Many different surgical procedures benefit from anchors used to secure prostheses to tissue at various locations in the body. One area where this is true is in the field of heart valve repair. Heart valve repair is a procedure to fix or replace a damaged heart valve or tissue around the heart valve.
There are four main heart valves in the heart: the aortic, mitral, pulmonary, and tricuspid. The aortic valve is located at the outflow end of the left ventricle and empties into the aorta. The mitral valve is located at the outflow end of the left atrium and empties into the left ventricle. The pulmonary valve is located at the outflow end of the right ventricle and empties into the pulmonary artery. The tricuspid valve is located at the outflow end of the right atrium and empties in the right ventricle.
Stenosis is a common affliction that can negatively affect the function of a heart valve. Stenosis is when a heart valve becomes harder due to calcification that decreases the heart valve effectiveness. A typical treatment for a stenosed heart valve is heart valve replacement also known as valvuloplasty. One way a heart can be replaced is by cutting out the diseased valve and suturing a prosthetic valve in its place.
Another problem that can negatively affect the function of a heart valve is deformation of the heart valve annulus. A deformed heart valve annulus can reduce leaflet coaptation causing leakage, also known as regurgitation. Typically, clinicians use an annuloplasty ring to treat a deformed heart valve annulus. The annuloplasty ring can be sutured in place such that the annulus takes the shape of the annuloplasty ring. Both valvuloplasty and annuloplasty conventionally involve tying suture knots in order to secure a prosthesis in or near the heart.
Clinicians can perform traditional open heart surgery to repair a defective valve or can utilize a minimally invasive or transcatheter technique. Traditional open heart surgery involves administering anesthesia and putting a patient on cardio-pulmonary bypass. A clinician cuts open the chest to access the heart. Then the clinician cuts out the defective native valve leaflets leaving the annulus in place. The clinician places sutures in the annulus or other tissue near the heart valve. The free ends of the sutures are threaded through a sewing cuff on the heart valve prosthesis. The clinician “parachutes” the heart valve prosthesis into place by sliding it down the sutures until it rests on the annulus. To secure the prosthesis a clinician can tie each suture free end to another free end to prevent the sutures from backing out. This prevents the prosthesis from migrating away from the annulus. Normally, this process entails about 4-8 knots on each of the 12-20 sutures used per implant. Thus, the number of suture knots can be quite large.
What was just described was a procedure for implanting a prosthetic valve. To implant an annuloplasty ring a similar procedure is followed except that the native valve is typically left in place. The annuloplasty ring is sutured in place to reshape the valve annulus and improve native heart valve leaflet coaptation.
Minimally invasive and transcatheter techniques may also be used. Normally a collapsible surgical prosthesis is used with minimally invasive or transcatheter procedures. To implant the prosthesis using a minimally invasive technique, a clinician makes a small incision in the chest and uses special tools to pass the heart valve repair prosthesis through the incision. An example of a minimally invasive heart valve repair procedure is transapical aortic valve replacement. In a transcatheter technique, a clinician passes a catheter through a patient's vasculature to the desired location in the heart. Once there, the clinician deploys the surgical prosthesis and uses tools which can be passed through a patient's vasculature to secure the prosthesis in place. An example of a transcatheter heart valve repair procedure is transfemoral aortic valve replacement.
Within the prior art there exists a need for devices and methods that reduce the time required to secure a heart valve repair prosthesis in place. Currently a clinician must tie a multitude of knots in sutures which can take a great deal of time. This lengthens the time a patient is on cardio-pulmonary bypass and under anesthesia. Thus, any reduction in surgical time that a patient undergoes would be beneficial.
Additionally, there exists a need to make it easier to secure a heart valve repair prosthesis in place. Currently, a clinician must work in the limited space near the heart to tie knots in sutures. This is a cumbersome process that benefits from a clinician of great dexterity and patience. In a minimally invasive or transcatheter surgery, the clinician must use tools that can be passed through a small incision, thus making the tying of knots even more difficult. Therefore, any improvement in ease of use would be beneficial.
Further still, there exists a need to increase the robustness of the attachment of a heart valve repair prosthesis. In order for the prosthesis to achieve maximum effectiveness, it must be coupled to the tissue around the heart valve and form a tight seal. For example, in the case of a prosthetic heart valve, the sewing ring must seal against the heart valve annulus such that no blood leaks around the outside of the sewing ring. Any leaks would decrease the effectiveness of the prosthetic valve. Thus, an increase in the robustness of the bond formed between the heart valve repair prosthesis and the annulus would be beneficial.